The Critical Currents

The Last Ayatollah: The Future of the Iranian Regime

Image courtesy of The Economist

Jan 10 • Aslan Bilimer

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December 2025

On the Collection of Art: Leonard Lauder & the Collector

“My role is not to posess, it is to conserve.” — Leonard A.

Dec 15, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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October 2025

The Renaissance Man: The Case for a Liberal Arts Education

And why we need one more than ever before

Oct 31, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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September 2025

A New Gilded Age: The American Project is in Peril

And neither Republicans nor Democrats seem to Care

Sep 17, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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Strongman Diplomacy: Donald Trump and the Changing World Order

An isolationist America is bad news for Americans and the Free World

Sep 1, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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August 2025

Covert Manipulation: Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy

The Overlooked Existential Threat Posed by Text based LLMs

Aug 17, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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Divine Protection: Talismanic Shirts Worn by the Ottoman Sultans

An exploration and review of the shirts fitted with holy inscriptions on display at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul

Aug 10, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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Abundance: The Future of the American Left

Reflection on Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Aug 1, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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July 2025

Christian Remnants: The Kariye Mosque (Chora Church) in Istanbul

From Byzantine Christian Monastery to Ottoman Mosque

Jul 27, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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A Sufi Reflection on Artistic Expression

Orhan Pamuk's Nobel Prize Winning Novel: My Name is Red

Jul 21, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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May 2025

The Picture of Dorian Gray for the 21st Century

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken,” – Oscar Wilde

May 29, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt

In the words of Fredrick Douglas, “Greece and Rome–and through them, Europe and America have received their civilization from the Ancient Egyptians.

May 28, 2025 • Aslan Bilimer

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